Part one: The formative period, 1520-1600. General introduction --
The origin and development of the early violin, 1520-50. The early violin, dates and places of origin, Gaudenzio Ferrari's paintings ; Ancestors: rebec, Renaissance fiddle, lira de braccio, the role of the viols, terms ; Did the viola precede the violin? ; The 'inventor' of the violin ; Chronological review of the evidence, treatises, historical, political, and linguistic questions --
The advent of the true violin and its development to 1600. The true violin described by Jambe de Fer, detailed description ; The emergence of Cremona and Brescia as centres of violin making, Andrea Amati, Gasparo da Salo, and G. P. Maggini, violins shown in painting ; Export of Italian violins to other countries ; Violin making outside Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, England ; Treatises, terminology ; The violin bow in the sixteenth century --
Violin music in the sixteenth century. The musical functions of the violin ; The dearth of written violin music ; The role of the violin in dancing and accompanying voices ; Instrumental forms, the canzona ; Use of the violin in France, Le ballet comique de la reine (1581) ; In England: records of the court, towns, and private households ; In Italy: accounts of the Duke of Savoy ; In Germany: an account of a ducal wedding --
How the violin sounded and how it was played in the sixteenth century. Different methods of playing, the corresponding sound ; How the violin was played in the sixteenth century ; Holding the violin and bow ; Tone, the bow stroke, Ganassi's information, down-bow and up-bow ; Pizzicato ; Fingering, positions, shifting ; Improvisation ; Multiple stops ; Expression, including vibrato and dynamics --
Part two: The development of an idiomatic technique, 1600-1650. Introduction, social, political, and artistic conditions, their impact on violin --
The development of the violin and bow in the early seventeenth century. The progress of the violin, Maggini, the Amatis, details of the violin and its fittings ; The bow ; The violin family as a whole, terminology ; Increasing usage of the violin, its effect on rebec and viol --
The new violin idiom, violin music and its uses in different countries, 1600-50. The implications of the term 'idiom' ; The development of a new violin idiom ; Violin music and its uses, 1600-50, the sonata and other forms ; Contributions of various countries, Italy, Marini ; Germany ; France ; England ; Other countries --
The technique and sound of the violin in the early seventeenth century. The relation between technique, music, and instrument making ; The dance style and the sonata style of playing, national styles ; Holding the violin and bow, the French and Italian bow grips ; The technique of the left hand: fingering, positions, and shifting ; The technique of the right hand: bowing and bow strokes ; The formation of a bowing discipline in Italy and elsewhere, the rule of down-bow, Zannetti ; Individual bow strokes, slurring, Francesco Rognoni ; Borrowing of technique, multiple stops ; Special indications: tremolo, affetti ; Col legno, pizzicato ; The sound of the violin in the early seventeenth century --
General matters affecting the violin to 1650. Ornaments ; The vibrato ; Dynamics and expression ; Rhythm and tempo ; Pitch, intonation systems --
Part three: The national schools of the late seventeenth century, the rise of virtuosity. Introduction --
The development of the violin and bow, 1650-1700. The influence of Nicola Amati and Stainer ; Antonio Stradivari (early works), the 'long' model ; Other makers ; Details of the seventeenth-century violin, the Talbot manuscript ; Material and thickness of string, pitch, tension, volume of sound ; The bow, the 'Stradivari' bow --
The violin music of the late seventeenth-century. Introduction: types of music and ideas of expression ; Contributions of different countries: Italy. Areas of activity, composers ; The Bologna school, G. B. Vitali ; Corelli, works and influence ; Germany. Biber, Walther ; Their music and technique ; The scordatura ; France. Lully's use of the violin in dances and the opera ; French violinists and the guild system ; England. The French influence of the restoration of Charles II, influx of German and Italian violinists, including Baltzar and Matteis ; The fancy, John Jenkins ; Dances, the variation, The Division-Violin ; Baltzar as a player ; Matteis as a player and composer ; Purcell's trio sonatas ; Other countries --
The technique of the violin, 1650-1700 (I): National styles of playing, the treatises, the left hand. Introduction, national styles of playing ; The violin treatises, the rise of the amateur violinist and its consequences ; The technique of the violin, tuning the violin ; Holding the violin ; Holding the bow ; The left hand: fingering, positions, and shifting, rules for the scordatura ; Terms for shifting, extensions --
The technique of the violin, 1650-1700 (II): The right hand and related questions, the sound of the violin. Bowing, the bow stroke ; Nuanced and sustained bow strokes, Bremner quoted on Corelli's practice ; The discipline of bowing, the rule of down-bow ; Muffat and French dances, terms ; Types of bowing and their execution: syncopated bowings, ondeggiando, bariolage, the slurred tremolo ; Multiple stops, their notation and performance ; The pizzicato, special effects ; Instrumentation and the ensemble, 'conducting' ; The sound of the violin about 1700 --
General matters affecting the violin, 1650-1700. Ornaments ; The vibrato ; Improvisation ; Dynamics ; Rhythm and tempo ; Alterations of rhythm. Lengthening of dotted figures ; Alteration of dotted and other figures in the context of triplets ; Notes inegales --
Part four: The culmination of the early history of violin playing, 1700-1761. Introduction: the 'evolution of progress' theory, a summary view of the violin --
The violin and bow of the early eighteenth century. Antonio Stradivari (maturity and old age) ; The Guarneri family ; Other makers ; Details of the violin and its fittings ; Other members of the violin family, terminology ; The bow, its evolution, Francois Tourte and the modern bow --
The violin music of the early eighteenth century. The development of the violin concerto, the concerto grosso and solo concerto ; The sonata, the variation, program music ; The development of the violin idiom ; Contributions of individual countries ; Italy: Vivaldi, Veracini, Tartini ; France: Leclair, Mondonville, Guillemain ; Germany: J. S. Bach ; England: Geminiani, Handel, Ariosti ; Other countries: Sweden, Holland (Locatelli), Switzerland, Poland, Spain ; Publication, performance, and patronage --
The technique of the violin, 1700-61 (I): The treatises, holding the violin and bow, the left hand. Violin treatises, 1700-61 ; The treatises as prototypes: Geminiani, Leopold Mozart, and L'Abbe le fils ; How the violin was played ; Conventions of notation ; Holding the violin, tuning the violin, intonation systems ; Holding the bow ; The left hand, fingering ; Positions, shifting, and the fingerings involved ; Terminology ; Shifting ; Extensions and contractions ; Harmonics, combination tones ; The vibrato ; Terminology of the vibrato --
The technique of the violin, 1700-61 (II): The right hand, the bow stroke and bow change, the rule of down-bow. The bow stroke, the beginning and ending ; Sol Babitz's theory of the messa di voce stroke ; Leopold Mozart's 'Divisions' ; How the bow stroke was made, the bow change, power and tone ; Bow strokes in general, the rule of down-bow ; Terminology and signs --
The technique of the violin, 1700-61 (III): Bow strokes and their execution. Introduction, relation of bowing to the character of the music ; The individual bow stroke ; Slurred bowings ; The violin staccato in the early eighteenth century ; Terms ; Signs: dots, strokes, wedges ; The performance of the individual (unslurred) staccato note ; Slurred staccato, including 'lifted' bow ; Slurred tremolo, legato and staccato ; Mixed bowings ; Vivaldi's bowings and terms --
The technique of the violin, 1700-61 (IV): Multiple stops, the "Bach" bow, special effects, instrumentation and conducting, the sound of the violin. Double stops ; Triple and quadruple stops, their notation ; The 'Bach' bow, a modern invention, Schering and Schweitzer ; Multiple stops in actual practice ; Arpeggios ; Slurring ; Special effects, including the pizzicato ; Instrumentation and conducting ; The sound of the violin in the early eighteenth century --
Specific and improvised ornaments, the cadenza. The trill ; The mordent ; The appoggiatura ; Improvised ornaments ; The cadenza ; Terms, the cadenza in Tartini and Locatelli --
Tempo, alterations of rhythm, dynamics, expression. Time signatures, tempo terms, the 'inherent' tempo ; Tempo rubato ; Alterations of rhythm. Notes inegales, Quantz quoted ; Double (or triple) dotting ; Alterations of dotted and other figures in the context of triplets ; Dynamics: loud, soft, and the shades between ; Aesthetics of expression, the affetto --
Practical hints to modern violinists. Introduction, the approach to the performance of old music, the intuitive approach, following the composer's intentions ; The old violin and the old bow ; The kind of sound to be produced ; The bow and bowing ; Position and fingering ; Altering the modern violin, reducing tension ; Holding the violin ; Other factors, technical and musical, including expression --
Appendix. Stradivari's birthday.
